


failures

by wingsoficarus



Category: The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
Genre: A slightly different take on the Zelda to Sheik transformation, Gen, Impa is sad and so is Zelda, Male Sheik (Legend of Zelda), References to the Hyrulean Civil War, Sheik is a separate character and technically dead (but who cares about that part), Sheikah lore (if you squint), this is basically me attempting to justify my headcanons and also make it fit canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:21:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26097058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wingsoficarus/pseuds/wingsoficarus
Summary: In which Zelda faces her failures and Impa conquers her demons.
Relationships: Impa & Sheik (Legend of Zelda), Impa & Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Kudos: 3





	failures

"I can't do it!" Zelda shouted, throwing her hands up in the air and turning to face her teacher. Her practice sword laid in the dust, and her wrist was throbbing from the hit it had taken,

"Try again." was all the grey-haired Sheikah said in response. She stepped back and offered Zelda a hand.

"I told you, I can't do it." Zelda protested. Warily, she eyed the practice sword that Impa held in her left hand.

"Have I taught you nothing?" Impa asked calmly.

"No, but-" Zelda realized that she was treading on dangerous ground now. But there was no getting out of this one.

"No excuses. I will not accept a quitter." Impa said. "Again." Following her words, she brought the wooden sword up to a ready stance.

Great, now Zelda had disappointed her teacher.

She sighed and stood up, then moved to go pick up her sword. She didn't bring it to ready stance quite yet, though.

Zelda knew she had to do better. She also knew that she was not performing well today. For whatever reason, she couldn't focus. But surely that couldn't be her fault?

After all, it had been three years since Ganondorf had taken control of Hyrule Castle and killed her father _right in front of her eyes._

So if she was distracted, surely she had a reason for it.

"Zelda. Now." Impa was getting annoyed, which was plain from her tone of voice.

"Give me a second." Zelda snapped, sounding harsher than she intended to.

"The enemy will not give you a second, Zelda. You must be ready for anything." With that, Impa stepped forward and struck out at the unprepared princess.

Zelda was barely able to bring her sword up in time to avoid being hit again. Her counterstrike was sloppy and Impa dodged it easily. The silver haired Sheikah sidestepped and used Zelda's momentum against her, striking at her back. This earned a muffled gasp of pain from the blonde princess, who hit the dirt for the fourth time today.

"Sloppy. You aren't focused." Impa said, then motioned for Zelda to get up again.

"I CAN'T." Zelda shouted. "How the hell am I supposed to focus if all I can think about is what I could have done to stop my father from dying? How the hell am I supposed to focus if all I am is a failure?" She shoved herself off the ground and threw her arms up, leaving the practice sword in the dust.

Impa winced, showing an emotion for once in her life. "Zelda-"

The blonde girl walked off, not even bothering to respond to her tutor.

-/-/-/-

Zelda knew she should probably go apologize to Impa for walking away from the training session like that. But she was still upset, and Impa had kind of disappeared.

She'd spent the last hour trying to actually locate Impa with no luck. Zelda had literally checked the entirety of Kakariko Village _twice._ Still, she couldn't find the Sheikah.

Now Zelda was standing at the entrance to the graveyard, trying to convince herself that it wasn't as scary as it seemed.

As she stood there, she spotted a familiar figure with silver hair kneeling next to a grave in the top left corner of the graveyard.

Hesitantly, Zelda started forward.

"Impa?" Zelda asked. When the Sheikah didn't reply, Zelda just kept talking since she could feel her courage failing. "I came to apologize. For, uh, earlier."

The apology sounded lame, even to her.

Impa was quiet for a long time. Had Zelda really pissed her off that much? Slowly, she reached out and put a hand on Impa's shoulder, just to see if she was even alive. The Sheikah's hand moved faster than Zelda even thought was possible, grabbing her wrist and twisting.

Zelda bit her lip and willed herself not to cry out in pain, but an involuntary squeak made it past her lips anyway.

Finally, Impa turned around. She quickly released Zelda's wrist, and the throbbing pain that was left nearly made Zelda see stars flicker across her vision.

"I am so sorry, Zelda. You scared me. I guess I'm a bit jumpier than usual." Impa cleared her throat and almost looked embarrassed.

"Who's grave are you visiting?" Zelda asked, trying to peer around the older woman's shoulder.

"It's not important." Impa said, expertly blocking Zelda's view. "Now, what did you need?"

"To apologize." Zelda replied. "I owe you an apology for the way I acted earlier, so.... I'm sorry. I should have known better. I'm not a child anymore."

"Of course, Zelda. Don't worry about it." Impa hesitated slightly before saying her name, which was odd. That never happened.

"Are you doing alright?" Zelda asked.

"Yes, of course." Impa responded. "Now, are you prepared for a magic lesson? I think that you're ready for more advanced disguise spells. And, well... quite frankly, it's high time you started living under an alias."

With that, the silver-haired Sheikah walked past Zelda and headed in the direction of Kakariko.

Zelda was able to study the gravestone now, and her curiosity got the better of her. She knelt before the headstone and basically had to do a double take when she saw the name written there. The date of death had been worn off, which was odd, but she wasn't really paying attention to that. No, the name on the headstone was what caught most of her attention.

_Here lies Sheik Cardoso, son of Impa and heir to the title of Shadow Sage._

_Died in battle at age 18._

-/-/-/-

It was honestly remarkable how much Zelda reminded Impa of her dead son at times. It was simple things, really- the way she got a dark look in her eyes when she was upset, her sense of humor, the way she talked and told stories.

But today, Impa could have sworn that she could feel her son's spirit protecting the princess. And, honestly, that was more painful than anything that had happened in the years since his death.

His dagger and harp rested on their stand, just like always.

"I'm sorry, Sheik. I failed you." Impa whispered.

His voice, barely more than a whisper. Impa looked up from the diagram she had been studying and saw nothing, just like she thought she would.

But then why had she heard his voice?

She shook it off and continued to study the diagram.

Zelda appeared in the doorway, looking mildly apprehensive. "I have a change of clothes ready to go. So, uh, are we going to get started?"

Impa nodded.

She walked over to the book and looked down at the page. "This looks like a really advanced spell.. are you sure I can handle this?"

"Yes. I do." Impa replied. "The spell might look scary, but I think you can do this."

"Wait, this line of text says that you can seal your own conscience away." Zelda remarked, her eyes widening.

"That's optional." Impa said. "You don't have to do that."

"But I want to." Zelda looked up from the page and directly at her mentor. "If I can seal my own conscience away, then I can escape how much of a failure I am... at least for a time."

"You're not a failure, Zelda." Impa said softly.

"Yes, I am. I couldn't save my father. I couldn't protect them all, and I couldn't save anybody either." Zelda sounded bitter, and Impa couldn't blame her. But, still...

"If you really want it, I can seal your conscience away for you. After that, there would be certain steps that we'd have to perform." Impa replied, deciding to just move past Zelda's remark.

"I've read about those steps. I know exactly what happens after the ceremony is performed." Zelda said.

"Alright. Are you ready, then? Before sealing away your conscience, you have to perform the transformation spell." Impa stepped away from the book and allowed Zelda to take a closer look at it.

Zelda nodded once, then started reciting the words. She didn't stumble over the pronunciation of the ancient words, which was quite impressive.

When she was finished, there was a brief flash of light.

In Zelda's place stood a young man with blond hair and red eyes.

"It... worked?" Zelda asked, but it wasn't Zelda's voice.

"It would appear so." Impa replied.

She- or rather, he- looked at Impa.

The young man staring at her was almost the spitting image of her dead son, albeit a few years younger than he had been at the time of his death.

"Are you ready to perform the sealing spell?" Zelda asked.

Impa could only nod.

She started reciting the words. This spell was significantly shorter than the transformation spell, but it seemed to stretch on for hours.

When the sealing spell was finished, something left those red eyes.

"What is your name?" Impa asked the young man.

"My name... I cannot recall my name." He frowned slightly. "What is my name?"

Impa exhaled. So she hadn't forgotten how to breathe after all. The sight of this young man who could have been her son was difficult for her to face, and his last words echoed in her head now. 

_"I hope... I hope you're not hurt, Mother." He laughed softly before his eyes fluttered shut and his knees gave out._

_He fell to the ground with the arrow that had ended his life sticking out of his left shoulder._

_The arrow that was meant for her._

The young man was still watching her. A hint of curiosity was in his gaze, but he didn't speak. 

If anything, his appearance now merely confirmed Impa's suspicions about what had happened to her son's spirit. 

While she had been lost in thought, the young man walked across the room and picked up the dagger. It was dusty, since nobody had touched it in years. 

"Does the dagger remind you of anything?" Impa asked.

"It feels familar." the young man said, examining the sheath. "Who owns this dagger."

"My son did." Impa nearly choked on the words. 

"...He's dead, isn't he?" the young man asked, turning his attention from the dagger to Impa.

Impa nodded. 

"You blame yourself. Tell me, why do you look like you've seen a ghost?" he said. 

"You look almost exactly like he did." Impa responded. 

"Then my name is..?" 

She hesitated. "You're not my son. I won't have you use his name."

He replaced the dagger on the stand and carefully grabbed the harp. On the bottom was a small inscription that Sheik had added so long ago... when he was just five years old, and he had started learning how to play the harp. Impa had yelled at him for using a knife when he was so little, but he'd just laughed and said "Don't worry, Mother! I was being careful."

_Property of Sheik Cardoso._

"His name was Sheik. You said I look like him, so it's only logical that I borrow his name. I mean no disrespect to his memory, of course, but..." he fixed Impa with a calculating stare. 

"Do you remember anything?" Impa asked the question without really thinking about it beforehand. 

"Not even my own name. I know that I must be around thirteen or fourteen years old, but beyond that... nothing. Although this harp and that dagger do seem familiar, I remember nothing." the young man sighed and replaced the harp on its stand. 

Impa took a deep breath and tried her best not to let her emotions show on her face. 

It was high time that she faced her guilt over his death. 

"Your name is Sheik Cardoso, and you're going to help the hero of legend take down that false king who sits in Hyrule Castle."


End file.
